Schools and colleges in West Bengal remain closed until April 22, orange alert issued for heat wave
All educational institutions in West Bengal have been ordered to remain closed from next week due to a ‘severe’ heat wave. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made the announcement on Sunday and said all educational institutions in the state will remain closed next week.
“All educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities, will remain closed from Monday to Saturday next week, taking into account the severe heat wave.”
“I urge the private educational institutions to do the same during this period,” Banerjee told a Bangladeshi news channel.
CM Banerjee said that children have been complaining of headaches and other health problems in recent days after returning from school.
The CM said that an official notice about this will be released soon.
“I will also ask people not to get out in the sun between noon and 4 p.m.,” she said.
The West Bengal government had previously announced that it would prepare summer holidays in state-run and aided schools with three weeks to May 2, except in the hill regions, due to the sweltering heat.
“All autonomous, state, central government-aided and private universities and affiliated colleges in the state, except for Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, will remain closed for a week from April 17 due to the prevailing heat wave,” the government of Western Bengal previously indicated
Daytime temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius have been recorded in most places in the state, and the Department of Meteorology has predicted that the heat wave will last through April 19.
Indian Metrology Department (IMD) official Naresh Kumar told ANI news agency that an orange alert has been issued in many states, including West Bengal, regarding heat waves.
The weather department said maximum temperatures are three to five degrees above normal in many parts of the western Himalayan region and northeastern India, West Bengal.
Earlier this month, the Met office predicted above-normal maximum temperatures for most parts of the country from April to June, excluding parts of the northwest and peninsulas.
A heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, at least 37 degrees in coastal areas and at least 30 degrees in hilly areas, and the deviation from normal is at least 4.5 degrees.